Hall of Famer Reese Has Cancer

Dodger Hall of Fame shortstop Pee Wee Reese has been diagnosed with lung cancer, according to friends, and is undergoing five weeks of radiation treatment.

Reese, 78, who overcame prostate cancer years ago, had a tumor removed from his lung that proved to be malignant. Reese, who still is recovering from a broken hip, started taking radiation treatments a week ago. He will undergo 25 radiation treatments--five days a week for five weeks--in Venice, Fla.

“He looks fine, but he’s not real well,” said Buzzie Bavasi, former Dodger general manager, who saw Reese at the Veterans Committee meeting last week in Tampa, Fla. “The radiation is taking a lot out of him, but he seems in good spirits.

“Really, he’s the same old Pee Wee. I think the thing that bothers him most is that his wife, Dottie, can now beat him in golf. I’m serious. That bothers him more than anything. But he’s optimistic. He believes each morning that he’ll wake up and live another day.”

Jackie Robinson credited Reese for becoming the first Dodger to befriend him and smooth the resistance among his teammates when he broke the color barrier in 1947.

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Left fielder Billy Ashley, who will be an everyday player this season only if center fielder Brett Butler retires, said that he refuses to worry about his fate.

“I could hit .900 and hit 15 homers this spring,” Ashley said, “and it might not matter. Everything is predicated on Brett. If he’s in center field, I’m on the bench.”

Yet, if nothing else, Ashley has proven to the Dodgers that he will be the everyday player, and not Roger Cedeno, if there is an opening. He has impressed the Dodgers with his discipline at the plate, which might be attributed to a new contact lens he is wearing in his right eye, improving his vision from 20-30 to about 20-15.

“It’s been great,” Ashley said. “I used to have blurry vision when the ball came in because of my astigmatism. Now, I’m seeing the ball great.”

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Raul Mondesi has solidified his status as the Dodgers’ No. 3 hitter. He’s batting .409, with five of his nine hits being doubles. “[Mondesi] has been good in the third-place spot,” Manager Bill Russell said. “He’s really matured. I like what I see there.” . . . The Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4-3, at West Palm Beach, Fla.